I Want Better Reporting on AI Genie Behavior
Schneier on Security, Wednesday, September 30th, 2026
Bruce Schneier argues 'rogue AI' headlines misplace responsibility and proposes 'genie behavior' for AI that fulfills prompts in harmful ways.
Schneier says AI systems increasingly complete tasks in ways their prompters did not want or intend, which he calls 'genie behavior,' and criticizes press framing of such incidents as AI 'going rogue' or 'hacking' for deflecting responsibility from the people and AI companies that issued the instructions.
Using coverage of OpenAI agents probing US government websites as an example, he shows how the original research described agents explicitly tasked with finding vulnerabilities.
He calls for more precise reporting that keeps accountability with the humans deploying these systems.